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Voices from Heaven

Voices from Heaven
Music by Bach, Telemann, Lully, and Handel

The famous 4th Brandenburg Concerto sets the tone for the opening concert of BSM’s 92nd year of youthful existence. Voices from Heaven features breathtaking concertos and arias by some of the most beloved composers of the Baroque era. While tenor soloist Matthew Shorten shines in arias by Lully, Handel and J.S. Bach, the visionary concerto BWV 1052 in D minor surprises with a mindboggling virtuosity that is unparalleled in any other concerto of the Baroque period.

Voices from Heaven
Music by Bach, Telemann, Lully, and Handel

September 22, 2023, Friday, 7:30 PM

Sundin Music Hall

1531 Hewitt Avenue, St. Paul
Tickets: Regular $35 | Student $5

September 23, 2023, Saturday | 7:00 PM

Central Lutheran Church

259 W Wabasha Street, Winona
Tickets: Regular $20 | Student $5

Voices from Heaven

Matthew Shorten, Tenor

Australian-born tenor Matthew Shorten is lauded for his “lovely touch” (Star Tribune) and “marvelous singing” (Pioneer Press). Matthew is a multifaceted musician with specialties in early music, oratorio, opera, and choral music of the Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical periods. He performs with ensembles internationally, and recently spent the 2022-23 season with acclaimed ensemble Cantus. Matthew received his B.Mus. summa cum laude from Vanderbilt University, and is an M.A. Candidate at the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.

Matthias Maute, Recorder | Artistic Director

Matthias Maute joined Bach Society of Minnesota as Artistic Director in 2016. The Montreal-based conductor, composer, and recorder and flute soloist is founder of Montreal-based Ensemble Caprice, an orchestra he formed in 1993 that performs throughout the world. The award-winning artist was honored with two JUNO Awards and in 2020 received the OPUS Award for Musical Event of the Year in recognition of the Mini-Concerts Sante he created during the pandemic, delivering 9,000 Mini-Concerts to 70,000 people in Montreal, Quebec, and Canada while providing 3,000 hires of professional singers and musicians during difficult times.

In 2019 Matthias was named Artistic Director of Ensemble Vocal Arts-Quebec. He has earned international praise for his artistic approach, presenting lush, vibrant performances and recordings of Early Music, and occasionally weaving other musical genres into his work. The New York Times described Ensemble Caprice as being “an ensemble that encourages the listener to rehear the world.” Matthias’ recording of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos juxtaposed with his own arrangements of Preludes from Shostakovich’s Op. 87 was praised by The New Yorker’s Alex Ross as standing out “for its fleet, characterful approach” and “its fresh, vibrant colors.”

In October 2022, Matthias and the Bach Society of Minnesota presented the U.S. Premiere of Vivaldi’s Four Nations, a suite of concertos created for the recorder that were lost after the composer’s death and reconstructed by Matthias. His compositions are published by Breitkopf & Hartel, Amadeus, Moeck, and Carus. Forty-nine movements of Matthias’ compositions are featured in 49 videos on noncerto.com. Matthias has made more than 20 recordings on the Analekta, Vanguard Classics, Bella Musica, Dorian, Bridge, and ATMA Classique labels. He is regularly invited to perform at major international festivals and in 2023, his Ensemble Caprice orchestra performed in South Africa, Finland, and Norway as well as Canada and the U.S.

Cléa Galhano, Recorder

Brazilian recorder player Cléa Galhano is an internationally renowned performer of early, contemporary, and Brazilian music. Galhano has performed in the United States, Canada, South America and Europe as a chamber musician, collaborating with recorder player Marion Verbruggen, Jacques Ogg, Belladonna Baroque Quartet and Kingsbury Ensemble. As a featured soloist, Galhano has worked with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, New World Symphony, Musical Offering and Lyra Baroque Orchestra. Galhano studied in Brazil at Faculdade Santa Marcelina, the Royal Conservatory (The Hague), and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, as a Fulbright Scholar. She is the Music Director of the Recorder Orchestra of the Midwest. Ms. Galhano recently received the prestigious McKnight fellowship award, MSAB Cultural collaborative and MSAB Arts Initiative. Currently, she is a faculty member at Macalester College and Adjunct Lecturer in Music, Recorder at HPI, Jacobs School of Music, IU.

Margaret Humphrey, Violin | Concertmistress

Violinist Margaret Humphrey maintains a vibrant freelance schedule as soloist, chamber musician, and orchestra member, performing in ensembles in the US and Europe. Previously a 25 year core member of the Minnesota Opera Orchestra, she now performs regularly with the Lyra Baroque Orchestra, Consortium Carissimi, Tempesta di Mare, and as concertmaster of the Bach Society of MN.

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